Minamata Mercury disaster




Contaminated fish and shellfish
In order to prevent the spread of polluted fish, The Prefecture put dividing nets at the entrance to Minamata Bay in 1974. They then established the cooperation of the fishing cooperative to cath fish in the bay. The Chisso company has supposively been buying the fish that had been caught and disposing them to cover their tracks. The concentration of mercury in the fish has decreased since the Chisso company has stopped its production of acetaldehyde.

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The Chisso Company


The Chisso corporation was a nitrogen company, manufacturing drugs, perfumes and plastics. The company was responsible of the mercury out brake on minamata bay, during the production stage some of the chemicals including mercury supposivly split into Minamata bay. But some sources say that the Chisso company wheredumping waste such as mercury, nitrogen and other unknown chemicals into Minamata bay, because it was much cheaper than properly disposing the chemicals.

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On october 16 2004 the supreme court of japan ordered the Goverment to pay approximately $7.15 million yen for knowing that the chisso corporation was violating environmental laws. The Chisso corporation had to pay up to $2.18 million yen in damages to the plantiffs. The Chisso corporation implemented environmentally safe technology in their production process they also quit using mercury in their method of production.





By Annuncia Talanoa